The Disregarded Canary: On the Plight of Black Women Voters
4 Pages Posted: 15 Dec 2020
Date Written: September 30, 2020
Abstract
“…. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see.” -Zora Neal Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
In American politics the Black woman voter is both mule and canary. Black women vote at higher rates than other demographics, and overwhelmingly and consistently vote Democratic—not because there is anything to gain but because doing so is necessary for the survival of the republic. Yet, two years after commentators declared 2018 to be the year Black women saved the Democratic party, they enjoy very little negotiating power at the polls. Black women voters carry the burden of saving the world, signal the end of democracy and the slow creep towards fascism, and remain an afterthought to the powers that be.
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